Blame game following Geneva II failure, thinking about Iran

Paul Dakiki

The United States, Britain, France, and Germany blame Syria for stonewalling. Now fighting is expected to intensify. The Free Syrian Army replaces its chief. Syria has become the main destination for international jihadists. Britain is now worried about returning fighters. Iran could be a good partner for peace in the Middle East.

Beirut
(AsiaNews) - A few days after peace talks on Syria (Geneva II) ended without
results, the international blame-game has begun. Almost as one, the West blames
Assad and the Syrian government for the impasse. However, there is enough blame
to go around for everyone, including the West, which had vetoed the
participation of an important player like Iran.

After three
weeks of talks, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (pictured)
closed the second round last Saturday without setting a date, apologising to
the Syrian people "who had great hopes."

The first
week of talks had led to a small but important result when government and
opposition representatives met in the same room to talk.

But in the
second week, everyone stuck to their guns, claiming that their priority should
take centre stage.

For Syrian
officials, the fight against terrorism came first, and for the Syrian regime,
the term applies to all the opposition to the Assad regime. For opposition representatives,
Bashar is Syria's "first terrorist".

In his
attempt at mediation, Brahimi accepted both views. However, his efforts proved
unsuccessful because Syria saw the talks as leading to regime change whilst
rebels accused Damascus of not wanting to change anything.

Yesterday
and today, the United States, Britain, Germany, and France accused Syria of not
being interested in the talks, of stonewalling and trying to consolidate its
power.

Various
analysts note that the Syrian regime's intransigence is also due to its
military victories on the ground. Since talks began, rebels have had to leave Homs
during a humanitarian operation. They were also militarily driven out of Yarmouk,
near Damascus, as well as from areas on the outskirts of Aleppo.

For its
part, the opposition appears to be further weakening. Today, news reports say
that the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the secular opposition to the
regime, was changed because of difficulties in the Syrian revolution. Abd
al-Ilah al-Bashir replaces Brig Gen Salim Idris as chief-of-staff of the FSA's
Supreme Military Council because of its recent failures.

The FSA's
position has been further weakened by fighting with Islamist insurgents. The
latter came together last year as a fight Islamic Front for Jihad aiming at
setting up an Islamic state in Syria. For this reason, they have rejected the
FSA and have refused to participate in the Geneva talks.

In an ironic
twist, all members of the opposition delegation in Geneva are listed as "terrorists."

In a statement,
the Syrian Justice Ministry included their names in a terror list, noting that all
their assets in Syria were seized and their bank accounts frozen.

Syrian
government delegate Bashar Jaafari explained that the list, which includes 1,500
names, was drafted months before talks started.

Analysts now
expect military operations to intensify, causing greater suffering in the
population.

In three
years of civil war, at least 140,000 people have been killed.

In the
coming days, Lakhdar Brahimi will report to the UN secretary-general. He also hopes
to meet with Geneva II's two main sponsors, namely US Secretary of State John
Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Meanwhile,
the international community is increasingly concerned that Syria has become the
main destination for jihadists from scores of countries, including the West.

British Minister
of State for Immigration James Brokenshire acknowledged yesterday that British
fighters returning from Syria are "a big problem" because of their
connection to terrorism.

By contrast,
the fight against growing terrorism in Syria could prompt the international
community to change its attitude towards Iran.

Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani has said that he was willing to fight (Sunni) terrorists,
curb the flow of weapons that is fuelling the Syrian war, and convince all the
parties to be part of a political solution.

With Saudi
backing, the United States vetoed Iranian participation in Geneva II talks.

This week, talks
on Iran's nuclear programme are set to start in Vienna. If they succeed, they could
end sanctions against Tehran and help the Islamic Republic become a partner for
peace in the Middle East.

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Blame game following Geneva II failure, thinking about Iran Middle East Iran Syria The United States, Britain, France, and Germany blame Syria for stonewalling. Now fighting is expected to intensify. The Free Syrian Army replaces its chief. Syria has become the main destination for international jihadists. Britain is now worried about returning fighters. Iran could be a good partner for peace in the Middle East.

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See also

30/01/2014 SYRIA - UNITED NATIONSGeneva II: No 'substantive' result, but Brahimi remains hopefulThe UN and the Arab League Special Envoy for Syria admits little progress has been made but the "'Ice is breaking". The two sides end their first talks tomorrow by agreeing to meet after a week. The UN and Syrian authorities are discussing the possible evacuation of neighbourhoods under siege in Homs. The number of foreign terrorists is growing.

27/01/2014 SYRIA - UNITED NATIONSGeneva II: government and opposition clash over Bashar al-Assad's fate The government calls on the rebels to respect Syria's sovereignty, proposes democratic elections without foreign influence and an end to terrorism. The opposition rejects direct talks. In Homs, the army will let women and children leave neighborhoods under siege, but no humanitarian convoy has yet entered the city.

15/02/2014 SYRIA - UNITED NATIONSGeneva II: second round of talks ends without resultsUN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi apologises to the Syrian people for the lack of progress. The main point of contention remains the transitional government, which Damascus has strongly rejected. The opposition continues to demand Assad's removal.

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